


What Died Didn't Stay Dead

by desperationandgin



Category: Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: 2 AM Ideas, Canon Divergent, F/M, Gen, a genuine mess, what diana did but make it a longer separation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27228202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desperationandgin/pseuds/desperationandgin
Summary: Before Claire has the chance to go through the stones, Bree discovers she's pregnant, and Claire decides to stay in Boston. Four years later, a revelation from her grandson changes everything.
Relationships: Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Comments: 47
Kudos: 184





	What Died Didn't Stay Dead

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't stop thinking of Jamie describing his dream to Claire about Jemmy and the telephone near the end of ABOSAA. That led to the first chapter of what is now going to be a multi-chapter fic. This first chapter was not beta'd, it was just me at 2 am, running it by my wife quickly, and posting. All mistakes and dumb ideas were my own, with no one to talk me out of it, LOL. But I promise, from here on out, there will be the full beta treatment.
> 
> Also, this fic was once titled 'Thin Veil' before I knew it would be a series. Disregard the previous blatant lie of this being a short little one-shot.

"I talked to grandda!"

Jeremiah knew of Frank, though he’d died years before he was born, so the declaration didn't come across as curious to me as it perhaps should have. Most young children had imaginary friends, and he'd heard enough stories of Frank, seen plenty of photographs in his young life already.

A month and a half after returning from Scotland, after saying goodbye to Jamie, Brianna had come to me tearfully, a period missed and more than a suspicion. It was Roger's child, no doubt about it, and so, together, we'd discussed options and at her insistence, made the phone call across the ocean sitting side by side.

I ached for Jamie every day, but especially then. He was the one - the only one - who could have eased my worries for our daughter and about the situation. I hadn't been ready for it, for our baby to be a grown woman, to be a grandparent, but there was no stopping time. When Jeremiah arrived, I wept. For so many things, but mostly for Jamie, who would never see the newest generation of Fraser. He’d been robbed of everything, while I lived in every good moment.

"It was grandda, granny," Jemmy insisted, pushing himself into my legs for attention.

"And what did you two discuss, hmm?" I asked the impatient four-year-old.

"A horsie!" It made me smile, and I reached down to ruffle his hair.

"He said you had a white horse, gran," he informed me, hanging across my knees now, tilting his head up at me.

My brow furrowed; I'd never ridden a horse in Frank's presence. With Bree, a few times, but never with Frank.

Now, Jem had my full attention, and I lifted him into my arms. "Was it grandpa Frank?"

He shook his head. "No. Grandda. He has mama hair!" Jemmy proclaimed, finally getting his young thoughts worked out, causing my heart to freeze in my chest for a beat.

_Grandda._

Swallowing heavily, I mustered a smile. "What else do you know about him, darling?"

He seemed to think about this, then grinned. "I don't know! He talks like daddy."

Now, the room seemed to shift out of focus, the air leaving my lungs.

We hadn't spoken of Jamie to Jemmy yet, if only because it wasn't like Frank, with pictures left behind and a life Jeremiah could understand. One day, Bree had decided, we would both sit down with him, once she decided he was old enough to know the truth about that part of his family tree. He might have heard us discussing Jamie back and forth, but he couldn't have known about the white mare I'd had during the time directly before Culloden. It wasn't a detail that'd had any reason to come up in conversation with Roger or Bree.

Perhaps it was all coincidence, somehow.

"Next time you see him, will you ask his name?"

"What for?"

"What if I'd like to play too? I can't ask him if I don't know his name, and he isn't _my_ grandda."

This seemed to make enough sense to Jemmy and he agreed. "Okay, granny. I can ask him."

I had no idea what it could mean, that my grandson has, apparently, been speaking to a man long dead. A man who still visited my dreams so frequently, it often hurt to wake.

"Granny?"

The same forced smile once again fell into place. "Yes, Jem?" I asked, tapping the tip of his tiny nose.

"What's a sassy neck?"

**Author's Note:**

> The rest of this fic will be posted once the entire story is complete. Chapters 2 and 3 are done, and we're looking at about 8 total chapters, including this prologue. Hope you'll return for the rest!


End file.
